To the Victors
by DeeDeeINFJ
Summary: An AU storyline that begins with the citizens of the Capitol successfully demanding the cancellation of the Quarter Quell. Revolution is still brewing in the districts, but the fates of all the characters will be very different.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I'm starting this story with a T rating, but it will become M at some point down the line, so be forewarned._

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><p>As we victors lowered our joined hands, the Capitol had already turned off the giant screens to lessen the impact of our display of unity. I heard a chant start off softly, building and building until we could make out the words: "No Quell! No Quell!"<p>

Katniss and I exchanged a look; I'm sure that mine was one of utter amazement. It was evident to everyone, both onstage and out in the crowd, that the victors' speeches had stirred the audience's emotions, but I never would have imagined that it could rouse them to open protest against the will of the Capitol.

The screens flickered back on, and we all turned our attention to see President Snow standing in his balcony. There was a tight smile plastered on his face as he raised both hands to silence the crowd. But the crowd was having none of it. I wondered if this was being televised across the districts.

"This could be either really good or really bad," Katniss said, and I nodded my agreement.

"Citizens…" Snow began. Even amplified by all the sound equipment, he was barely audible above the mob's noise. Lots of us, including myself, gasped as a piece of fruit flew into the frame and hit Snow's shoulder.

There was silence after that. It was more than silence – it was a dreadful hush. We all watched the screen as Snow bent to pick up the piece of fruit. It looked like an apple to me, but with all the different ways the people of the Capitol liked to engineer and decorate their food, there was no way to be certain.

The roar started again as if it had never stopped. _No Quell! No Quell! No Quell!_

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Haymitch, who had also grabbed Katniss. "Off the stage. Now!" he barked.

"No," I said. Katniss and Haymitch, who had already turned to leave, both looked up at me in confusion. "We need to stay here, where the people can see us," I insisted. "They're doing this because of us. If we all go in, they'll lose sight of why they're fighting back."

"If you encourage this and nothing comes of it, it'll be your neck," Haymitch growled under his breath. "You get that?"

Still I refused to budge, and I was encouraged when Katniss returned to her place at my side. "I'm not encouraging anything. I'm just standing here," I said.

Snow clearly had a riot on his hands. The screens, which had been showing shots of the angry crowd, returned to his hard face.

"People of the Capitol!" he shouted. "I have heard your voices!" He paused as the roar died down. "I hereby declare the Quarter Quell canceled—" Again he had to wait as the crowd cheered and quieted again. "Your victors will return to their districts and carry out the essential message of the Games in other ways. We will ensure that every citizen in every district remembers that _peace_ is our primary objective! The enemies of peace are the enemies of the Capitol!" The crowd erupted into more cheers. "The enemies of peace are the enemies of our victors!"

The roar after that was deafening, and neither of us protested when Haymitch took our arms and propelled us off the stage and back into the Training Center.

As excited as I was, I knew all too well that Snow would turn this against us in horrible ways.

* * *

><p>It was past midnight, but I knew that Katniss was still awake because her fingers fidgeted with my shirt. Even through the material, I could feel her warm breath on my chest. I could almost hear each second tick by in the silence of her dark room. I lifted a hand to stroke her hair.<p>

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey," I replied. "What are you thinking about?"

"Honestly? That this is way worse than the Quell would've been."

"Yeah." I had been lying awake and thinking the same thing. Instead of having us kill each other, they would use us against our friends, family, and neighbors. We would always be their pawns.

"And Peeta… they think we're married. We'll have to get married." She made no effort to hide the bitterness in her voice.

I shifted onto my elbow, and her head rolled to my arm. I continued to stroke her hair as I looked down at her. "We won't have to get married. I would never, ever let something like that be forced on you. I promise. I think we'll have to live together, but that wouldn't be bad, would it? Money isn't an issue. You hunt, I cook. We already sleep together." Her face flushed, and I felt the heat in mine as well. "Not like that, obviously."

"What about the baby, Peeta?" she asked. Her face was serious, but I saw a smile quirking at the corners of her mouth. "Everyone thinks I'm pregnant with your baby."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I was trying to guarantee that sponsors would help you in the Quell."

"I know. It was a clever thing to do."

"We'll think of something," I assured her.

She sighed. "I'll just say I had a miscarriage. From stress or something. Easy enough."

"Yes," I agreed, trying to smile. "Easy enough." She couldn't have any idea how much the thought pained me – the thought of her actually carrying my child and losing it. I felt silly for mourning something I didn't even have.

I rolled onto my back again, and Katniss moved her head back to my chest and draped her arm across my stomach.

"There's one thing I'm happy for," she said after a few moments' quiet.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Neither of us has to die. Whatever Snow makes us do, at least we get to be together."

I had thought of this, of course, but the fact that Katniss voiced it herself sent a thrill of happiness through me. I squeezed her waist, too overwhelmed to reply.

To my surprise, she added, "And you're right. Living together will be nice."

I wanted to tell her I loved her, but that would have made her uncomfortable. Besides, she already knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

Effie woke us up very early – too early even for me, a baker's son who is usually awake to see the sunrise. She didn't say anything when she found Katniss and me sleeping together, and why should she? Like everyone else, she now thought we were married.

Snow wanted to meet with the victors at five o'clock. Maybe he was hoping that some of us wouldn't show up, but I was glad to see that all of us were there. Most of us were yawning and looking very unlike Hunger Games champions, but we were there. It was our first act of defiance.

Snow didn't mince words. We would spend the next year of our lives doing the Capitol's bidding. We would be visible at all public events in our districts. Our duties would include floggings and executions. We would report anything we heard about uprisings, and we would be expected to help suppress them. In short, we would be Snow's spies, slaves, and soldiers all in one.

I felt sick to my stomach, and so did most of the others, judging by their faces. Maybe we all felt sick, and some were just better at hiding it. Katniss, for one, was as still and expressionless as marble.

"Are there any questions?" Snow asked at the conclusion of his long speech. No one moved or said anything, yet Snow continued to wait. He obviously knew that the long silence was making us uneasy. "Very well," he said at last. "You will be transported back to your districts in two hours. Go back to your rooms and pack your belongings." With that, he swept out.

* * *

><p>Katniss and I had just sat down to our lavish breakfast on the train when Effie joined us, her face streaked with tears. Before I could ask her if she was okay, she sobbed out, "They killed Cinna!"<p>

I heard Katniss' fork clatter to her plate, but I kept my eyes on Effie. "When?" I asked. There was no need to ask _why_.

"This morning. He was dragged out into the street and executed by Peacekeepers." She raised a lavender handkerchief to her face and cried into it.

"Excuse me," Katniss said, rising. She left us without another word.

For a few minutes, I tried to eat, but all I could hear were Effie's sniffles, and all I could think about was Katniss. "Effie, do you mind if I leave you?" I asked when I couldn't bear it any longer. "I'm sure Haymitch will be here soon anyway."

"Haymitch is gone," she said.

"What?"

"No one has seen him since last night. We don't know where he ran off to." She bit into a muffin and started crying again.

"It'll be okay," I said, hoping my voice sounded convincing. I reached over and squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay."

"I know it will." She looked up and gave me a good effort at a smile. "Go take care of Katniss."

I returned her smile, wrapped some food in my napkin, and left the table. Katniss, as I expected, had gone to her room. I found her standing by the window, her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey," I said. I set the napkin of food down on her bedside table and walked over to her. She stepped into me, and I wrapped my arms around her. "Hey," I said again, softly this time, into her hair.

She unfolded her arms, which had been pressed between us, and held onto me. "Cinna…" she murmured.

I tightened my hold on her. "I'm sorry," I said. Effie and I could tell her about Haymitch later.

We stood there a little while, just holding each other quietly, until Katniss stepped back from me and turned to the window again.

"There's food by your bed," I told her, intending to leave her alone.

"Peeta, where do you want to live?" she asked suddenly.

It was a strange question, but my answer to it would never change. "I want to stay in District 12," I replied.

"Me too," she said. "But that's not what I meant. I was wondering where you and I will live. I guess they'll move us into a new house in the Village."

"Probably." I hesitated. "I had another thought, though."

She turned away from the window, and her eyes found mine. "Tell me."

I sat on her bed and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Well, I don't like the Village."

"I don't either," she said immediately. "I hate it."

"I was thinking, since my family lives in that big house in the Village now, maybe you and I could live in my family's house in town. The bakery is right there, and I know it's small, but-"

"I would love that." She walked over, sat beside me on the bed, and reached into the napkin for a piece of bacon. "That's exactly what I want."

The bacon had been well cooked, and the quiet crunch of it in Katniss' mouth was the only sound in the room – apart from the ever-present rumble of the train, of course.

"I won't let them use me," I mused aloud. Her response was a soft laugh, and I looked at her. "What's funny?"

"You told me that I'm 'pure,' but no one is purer than you."

I couldn't help but laugh with her. When our laughter faded away, I said, "No matter what we do, I don't think we'll escape this without some blood on our hands."

"I don't intend to escape it without some blood on my hands," she said fiercely. "But not a drop of it will be innocent blood."

Before I could stop myself, I closed the short distance between us and kissed her. Realizing too late what I had done, I pulled back as soon as my brain caught up with the rest of me. Katniss raised her fingers to her lips, staring at me in surprise.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. I got up and let myself out of her room.

* * *

><p><em>Randomness: if you like Jason Mraz, check out his new song "I Won't Give Up." It's perfect for Peeta &amp; Katniss! <em>


	3. Chapter 3

I tried to avoid Katniss as much as possible for the rest of the day, so I was surprised when she tapped on my door and tiptoed into my room that night. "Peeta?" she whispered.

I sat up in bed and squinted at her in the darkness. "Yeah. Are you okay?" I asked.

"You didn't come to me," she said, and I wondered if I was only imagining that she sounded hurt. She closed the door and walked to my bed. Her eyes fell briefly to my bare chest – I always wore a t-shirt when I slept with her – before meeting mine.

I switched on the low-watt lamp next to my bed. We both blinked in the sudden bit of light. "I guess I assumed that you wouldn't want me to," I said. She cocked her head to the side, looking confused. "After what happened earlier?" I added.

"I didn't mind it," she said. I had no idea how to respond to that, so I didn't say anything. She nodded towards the bed. "Got room for me?"

I scooted over and flipped the covers back, and Katniss slid in beside me. "Will you get the light?" I asked.

With a soft click, darkness folded itself back around us. Katniss settled against me the way she always did, with her head on my chest, but it felt very different tonight. I was acutely aware of her against my bare chest – the delicate brush of her eyelashes, the damp heat of her breath.

"Your heart is beating so fast," she murmured. She laid her hand on my chest, just under her cheek. I closed my eyes, praying that the soft caress of her lips and fingertips wouldn't make it beat even faster. We lay there in silence for a while, and then she said, "That was the first time you've ever kissed me when it wasn't for the cameras."

"No," I said quietly.

There was a brief pause. "No?"

"Those kisses in the cave were all real to me. I didn't realize that you and I were putting on a show. And every kiss since then, even the ones we planned or posed, I still _meant_ them all."

Her finger moved in an idle circle on my chest, and I knew that she didn't have any idea what effect she had on me. She never did.

"I've never given anyone a real kiss," she said. "It's always someone kissing me, or it's me kissing the way I think it's supposed to be done for the audience."

I didn't know what to say; maybe she didn't want me to say anything. On one level, I was hurt. On the other, I admired her for it. Finally, I said, "It's good that you're saving that part of yourself just for you. Something they can't watch or control or make ugly."

She raised her head and looked at me for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed my bottom lip. She kissed the bow of my upper lip, then covered my mouth with hers. The kiss was unlike any we had shared before. The difference between all of her staged kisses and this one was quite clear. There was a softness and a give to her mouth that had never been there before, a vulnerability and an openness that she had never displayed for the cameras or the crowd. She cupped my face in her hand – another thing she had never done. As much as I wanted to be an active participant, meeting every touch of her tongue with one of my own, I understood that it was important for me to be passive in this and to accept her kiss just as she gave it. She scraped my bottom lip with her teeth and kissed it briefly before pulling back to look down at me.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her expression was one of surprise, as if she hadn't realized until this moment what a kiss could be. To be honest, neither had I.

"Kiss me," she said, and I didn't need a second invitation.

I rose up onto my elbow and guided her head down to the pillow, kissing her with gentle insistence. I found that my own kisses were different in response to hers. There was real passion between us now, and it made every other kiss we had exchanged seem vacant and hollow. She ran her palms over my chest and sighed beneath me, and I forced myself to pull away.

"Katniss…"

"I didn't know," she murmured. "I didn't know it could be like this."

"Kissing?" I asked briefly, still somewhat breathless.

She slid her hands over my chest again, up to my shoulders, and down my arms. "All of it." Her eyes locked on mine. "You."

I dipped my mouth to hers again and gave her one last, soft kiss before I lay back down and drew her to me. She settled her head in its usual spot and draped her arm over me. If that had been what Katniss considered to be the first time she'd ever really kissed someone, it struck me how little she had been able to experience what love and romance really were. Love with someone of her own choosing – someone like Gale Hawthorne.

"You're not stuck with me if you don't want to be, you know," I told her. "When you find the person you really want to be with, we'll figure something out. I promise."

She sighed, and the feel of her breath on my skin raised goosebumps. "Peeta, I don't even think about things like that. I have too many real problems to face, and we're heading into even more problems." I didn't say anything. After a minute she said, "All I can think about is right now. And right now, you're the person I want to be with. If we don't take care of each other, this will be even more dangerous than the Quell would've been."

"Hey, you and I leave the arena together. Isn't that how it works?"

I felt her mouth curve into a smile. "That's how it works," she said. She brought her fingers to her lips again, the way she had done when I kissed her that morning. "Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"The way I kissed you tonight… I'm not going to do that for the cameras. That's just for us."

Her words sent a thrill through me. _That's just for us._ Was she implying that there would be more kisses "just for us"? More of her lips and her hands in the dark, where no cameras could pry? More kisses that meant something, even if neither of us knew exactly what? Whether it meant any of those things or not, it signified that she thought of us together as a team. I wasn't her adversary or merely her fellow tribute. I was part of _us_.

"Just for us," I agreed.

"Good," she said. "They can't have everything."

In the dark quiet that followed, I stared up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. Katniss breathed deeply and evenly, her body a warm weight against mine as the hours passed. I caught myself smiling without even realizing it.

"I want to hold you and kiss you every night," I whispered into her hair.

She stirred against me, and I froze. Surely she hadn't been awake, I assured myself with a terrible, sinking feeling.

But she murmured in a sleepy voice, "I'll allow it."

I lay there awake for the rest of the night, wondering if she had been fully conscious when she said that.


	4. Chapter 4

There was an enormous, cheering crowd waiting to greet us when we returned to District 12. My family, Mrs. Everdeen, and Prim emerged from the sea of waving arms to hug us. I thought my father would crush me. A supper had been planned for us and our families at the mayor's house, and I felt almost ashamed at the amount of food that I knew would be lavished on us.

Shortly before the meal, Katniss and I explained our living arrangement to our parents. We also assured them that we were not actually married, but that our lives would be endangered if they didn't keep the secret to themselves. My parents seemed happy about my idea of living with Katniss in our old home in town. Mrs. Everdeen was less so.

As soon as I was able, I found a moment alone with her and assured her that I would never hurt or take advantage of her daughter in any way.

She gave me a tired, worn smile. "I trust you, Peeta. You've always been a sweet boy. I just don't want my daughter to become trapped in a life she didn't choose and doesn't want."

"I don't want that either," I told her earnestly. "I'll do everything I possibly can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Again she smiled at me, but it was warmer this time. "Your love for her is real, isn't it? Not just for the cameras."

"Yes." Though my face felt hot, I was determined to meet her eyes. "I love her with all my heart."

To my surprise, Mrs. Everdeen embraced me in a way my mother had never done. "Take care of her, Peeta," she whispered before she let me go. She stepped back again, her eyes shining.

* * *

><p>My father, Prim, and Madge helped us move our things to the bakery house in town. My father left after we had done all the actual moving, but Prim and Madge stayed to help us set up and arrange everything. I moved my things into my old room. It seemed smaller than ever after I'd grown accustomed to my large room in the mansion, but nothing felt more like home. I offered Katniss my parents' old room, which was slightly larger than mine and my brothers', but she preferred a smaller one. In the end, she chose the room right next to mine.<p>

Though we intended to sleep together for the comfort it gave us, I felt that it was important for us to keep separate rooms. Katniss obviously felt the same. It set a boundary between us that needed to be there. We would sleep in the same bed and share the same house, but we did not share a life the way a married couple would. There were my things and there were her things.

By the time Prim and Madge left, the house looked as if we'd been living there for years. For supper I laid out the food that my father had brought over. Katniss appeared in the doorway just as I was finishing, her face pink from all the work we had done. Lots of her hair had escaped her braid, and it hung in wispy strands around her face and on her neck.

I smiled at her and stepped aside so she could see the spread of food. "Hungry?"

We sat and ate quietly, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I washed our two plates while Katniss wrapped up and stored the food we had left over. That done, I led her around the house and acquainted her with what switches did what, how to turn the faucet just so to get the hottest water, how to turn the knob on a certain door so that it would close properly, and all of the other quirks that every house has.

Our tour ended in the kitchen, where it had begun. "What do you think?" I asked. "Do you think you're going to like it here?"

Whatever anxiety I felt before was erased at the sight of her smile. "I like it very much," she said. "It feels like a home, doesn't it?"

"It _is_ a home," I said. "It's our home for as long as you want it to be."

Her eyes wandered to the window over the sink, where we could see the sun setting in a halo of yellow and orange. "You're so good, Peeta," she said quietly. "You're going to make some girl so happy one day."

I knew she meant it as a compliment, but it felt like a stab in the gut. I tried to smile anyway.

* * *

><p>We decided to sleep in my bed since it was the larger of the two. I put on my pajama bottoms and a fresh t-shirt while Katniss went to her room to wash up and change. I was already in bed when she came in.<p>

"Do you want the door open or closed?" she asked, pausing with her hand on the knob.

"I like it open, but it really doesn't matter," I said. She left it open, switched off the light, and walked to the bed. I couldn't help but notice her hesitation. "Katniss?"

"It seems different somehow," she said. "Getting into _your_ bed. Not a strange bed on a train or in the Capitol, but your own bed."

I reached out and took her hand. "It's just a piece of furniture with cleaner sheets."

Her eyes met mine, and we both smiled. "Well, when you put it that way..."

She slid in beside me, her body folding into mine in a way that was now as familiar to me as my own hand. She was right. It _did_ feel different. It wasn't only the bed, but the idea that we lived here now, just us. Katniss even smelled different because she had used her own toiletries and not those provided by the Capitol.

"Peeta?" she said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wear these only when I'm with you?" she asked, plucking lightly at the sleeve of my t-shirt.

"I wear them sometimes when I'm alone, too," I said.

"Your skin is so much warmer."

I blinked, not exactly sure what she was getting at or what I was supposed to say. "Are you cold?" I asked. "I can get us another blanket, or I could close the window."

She shifted against me a little. "No, I'm not cold." There was a moment of silence, and then she said, "I just liked it. Feeling your skin the other night."

I eased her aside slightly so I could sit up halfway and peel off my shirt. I let it fall on the floor by the bed. She laid her hand on my chest and slid it up to my shoulder as I rested my head on the pillow again and drew her back to her spot.

"Is that better?" I asked.

She nodded into my shoulder. I ran my fingertips up and down her arm, closed my eyes, and willed myself to sleep, but my mind was much too full.

"This house smells like bread and sweet things," she mused absently. "It smells like you."

I smiled up at the ceiling. "Is that good or bad?"

"Everything about you is good."

I moved my fingertips from her arm to her hair, stroking the loose strands back from her face. "It'll smell like you, too, before long," I said.

"Like blood and dead things?" she said dryly.

"No." I tipped her face up so we could look at each other. "Like grass and trees. Pine needles. Sometimes sunlight, sometimes rain."

She leaned closer and pressed her lips to mine, kissing me the way she had on the train, though briefly. "They're going to try to hurt us in any way they can, Peeta," she said, her eyes dark. "But I won't let them hurt you. My only plan for the Quell was to make sure you lived. You belong in this sweet-smelling house with a wife and children who love you. I won't let them take that away from you. Not ever."

It was difficult to manage a reply to that, but I tried. I touched her face. "Just make sure they don't take _you_ away from me." I swallowed in an attempt to keep my voice under control. "I mean it. Okay?"

"I'll do whatever I have to do," she replied, resting her head down again.

_So will I_, I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

For three days after our return to the district, I waited for Katniss to mention Haymitch or to remark on his absence. She never did. On the night of the fourth day, as we ate a supper of squirrel hunted by Katniss and cooked by me, I finally asked, "Have you noticed that Haymitch didn't come home?"

Her fork paused in midair. Her eyes met mine and quickly looked away again. "I know," she said.

"Effie already told you," I reasoned, nodding.

"No." She paused and laid her fork down. "Haymitch told me."

"When did you see him? Effie said no one had seen him since the night the Quell was canceled."

"I didn't see him, exactly," she said slowly. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded, brown piece of paper. "He slipped this into my hand before we went to bed." She passed it across the table to me.

_District 13 needs the mockingjay_, I read, frowning. I looked back up at her. "District 13? But-"

Before I could continue, we were interrupted by a loud, insistent knocking at the front door. We exchanged a glance and rose from our chairs at the same time. If Katniss had been any other girl, I would have placed myself between her and whoever stood on the other side of the door. But Katniss would never stand for such a thing – and for good reason. She was much more capable of defending herself than I was.

Our visitors were two Peacekeepers I had never seen before. They strode in without waiting for an invitation, glancing at our half-eaten supper as if we might have hidden weapons and traps inside the potatoes.

"Peeta and Katniss Mellark, is it?" asked the shorter, stockier of the two.

"That's right," Katniss replied without so much as a blink. "What can we do for you?"

The taller man sat in Katniss' chair and pushed her food around with her fork. "We are part of an elite force of Peacekeepers sent by President Snow to – ah – _guard_ the Victors as they serve the Capitol this year." Spearing a piece of squirrel with the fork, he raised it to his nose and sniffed. "What is this?"

"Meat," Katniss said.

"If we'll be working together a lot," I said quickly, slapping on a friendly smile, "maybe you could introduce yourselves."

"All you need to know," the short one answered, "is that I'm A, and he's B."

The one we now knew as "B" stood up and walked closer to Katniss. He circled her once before stopping just in front of her. My body tensed automatically, but I stayed put.

"Miss Everdeen…" He paused and smiled coolly. "Pardon me. Mrs. Mellark. Sneaking out past the fences is punishable by public flogging for first offenses and execution if the defiance continues. As someone who will be enforcing laws and encouraging civil obedience as an ambassador of the Capitol, it might perhaps be wise to become more familiar with the laws yourself." He slid his finger down her cheek, and I could tell that Katniss was using every muscle in her body to stop herself from recoiling.

"Do we understand each other, then?" A asked, looking between Katniss and me.

I nodded my reply, and Katniss said, "We do."

After they left us, we seemed to be in unspoken agreement that we weren't hungry anymore. We put away the food in silence and spent a tense few hours in the living room. Like me, I'm sure Katniss was only pretending to read.

I gave up eventually and set my book aside. "We do have all the food we need for ourselves and our families," I pointed out.

"That isn't why I keep hunting," she said. She kept her eyes on the book in her lap. "It's the only freedom I've got anymore."

"You can say and do anything you want when you're with me. Kick a door. Break a plate. Curse Snow." When she finally looked up at me, I smiled at her. "Maybe we're not free out there, but we are in here."

"There are people who have enough to eat because I hunt for them. What are they going to do? What about Gale?"

"We have more than enough. We can help them."

She scoffed and shook her head. "He's – they – some people are too proud." She closed her book, tossing it aside on the sofa. "I'm going to bed." As she passed my chair, she stopped, and I saw that she twisted her hands in front of her. "I'm going to sleep in my room tonight."

"Okay," I said in the most neutral voice I could manage.

I wasn't surprised when Katniss' cries woke me in the middle of the night. Shuffling half-asleep to her door, I knocked softly before pushing it open. She hadn't woken up yet. I sat on the edge of her small bed and lifted her up against me.

"Shhhh," I whispered. It was always best not to startle Katniss awake from a nightmare. She sometimes lashed out in a panic. I stroked her hair with my fingers and rocked slightly. "It's okay. It's okay."

Her body stiffened in my arms and then relaxed completely, and I knew she was awake. She put her hand on my chest to push herself back. "Sorry," she said. She always apologized.

And I always told her not to. "Don't be." I tucked her hair behind her ear. "What did you dream?"

"Nothing. It was nothing. Go back to bed, Peeta. I don't want to keep you awake."

"I'll go only if you come with me."

To my surprise, she smiled. "Fine," she said.

She slept with her back curled into my chest, my arm wrapped around her waist, my nose against her neck. An unusual position for us, but definitely not one I disliked. I must have liked it a little too much because I was hard when I woke up. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but to my great relief, Katniss had never been aware of it. Or, if she had known, she had been graciously silent about it.

As quietly and carefully as possible, I extracted myself from the bed without waking her, showered, and dressed for the day. By the time the sun rose, I had already put cheese biscuits in the oven.

Katniss slept late. The biscuits were baked and quite cold when I decided to check on her. I didn't worry when I saw that my bed was empty. I didn't worry until I had checked her room, both bathrooms, and every other room in the house. I didn't worry until I noticed the bit of brown paper that held Haymitch's message about the mockingjay and District 13. Katniss had left it on my nightstand.


End file.
